


Slipping Into Your Shoes

by benedicteggs



Category: Camp Camp (Web Series)
Genre: Adventure, Gen, Humor
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-12-16
Updated: 2017-12-17
Packaged: 2019-02-15 17:26:55
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,202
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13035930
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/benedicteggs/pseuds/benedicteggs
Summary: [or alternative title: cc parody of freaky friday] Max and David wake up to realize that they switched bodies. Humor and hijinks ensue.Inspired by this blog!! http://david-and-maxwell.tumblr.com/post/164912232213/freaky-friday





	1. Chapter 1

“Hey, David,” The redhead groaned and cracked open his eyes, immediately regretting it. Bright lights suddenly filled his vision, leaving dancing spots even as he squeezed his eyes shut. He tossed onto his other side, away from the blinding morning light, haphazardly throwing the covers back on him for extra shade. Not even another second passed by as he was shaken awake.

 

“Get up, sleepyhead,” He could hear Gwen yawn. Another vigorous shake and he shook the covers off him, propping himself up on his elbows and gave the counselor a groggy glare. Gwen only raised an eyebrow in return. “It’s, like, 7:30. What are you still doing in bed? You’re usually up _waaay_ earlier than this.”

 

Gwen turned to open the blinds, letting even more godforsaken light surge through his room. David bunched up his pillow and shoved it into his face before biting out: “Get the hell out of my tent, Gwen."

 

“Jeez.” Gwen sounded not so much irritated as shocked. “You really do need some rest. I’ll go take first watch of the campers for you— just sleep in for an hour or two.”

 

He didn’t reply but waited until Gwen’s footsteps retreated and the door shut before flopping onto his back, releasing a heavy sigh. He shut his eyes, a crabby expression still on his face.

 

“Watch the campers for me?” He grumbled to himself. “The fuck?”

 

* * *

 

“ _Goooood_ morning, Camp Campbell!” Max practically sprung out of his bed, a full-blown grin plastered on his face, his voice stirring awake his tent mates. Neil was the first to open his eyes, convinced that the words that just came out of Max were his dreams. Nothing more. However, as he watched with dawning horror, his usually grumpy friend doing stretches and practically bouncing on his heels, he was more convinced that Max had been abducted and replaced with some fake clone.

 

“Max?” Neil called, half-hidden in his covers (he was freaked), “You, uh, you feeling okay, buddy?”

 

“Neil?” Max frowned. “Nikki? What are you kids doing here?”

 

Nikki, who was now also awake, was blinking blankly at Max. “Whoa. I don’t think I’ve _ever_ seen you smile that wide, Max!”

 

“Wait… Max? Did you just call me—” Max looked at his hands. “Oh gosh! I have ridiculously tiny hands!!”

 

He then grabbed at his shirt. It was a pasty yellow shirt, definitely not the shirt he fell asleep in. He grabbed his hair. At once, his fingers were ensnared in tufts of thick, tangled locks. Nikki and Neil were already walking up towards him, apprehension clear on their faces.

 

“Guys, listen,” Max wrung his hands, biting his lip. “I’m not Max.”

 

“Aha!” Neil cried out triumphantly. “I knew it all along. You’re his evil clone replacement!”

 

“What? No! I’m—” Any other further words were knocked out of him as Nikki launched herself at Max, wringing him by the collar of his t-shirt.

 

“What have you done with our friend, you fake?” Nikki snarled as Max gasped for air.

 

“I’m David!” Max choked out. Nikki, stunned, dropped him. Neil took a step back. “I’m in Max’s body somehow! Help!”

 

“You’re— _David_?” Neil gasped. “Wait. If you’re in Max’s body, then is Max in–”

 

“Oh no.”

 

* * *

 

“Oh my god. Oh my _fucking_ god.” David (Max) clenched the edge of the bathroom sink, drinking in the unfamiliar reflection before him. The reflection was familiar, however. What wasn’t so familiar was that it was his reflection. Max felt David’s hand touch the cold mirror. This was him. From the unruly, floppy-ass ginger hair to his pale complexion. He was his dreaded counselor. Well, this was rich. He looked identical save for his blue eyes. At least he still has that.

 

“How the fuck did this happen?” He yelled at the mirror, his voice strangely lower than he was used to. “Why am I stuck in David’s body? Jesus fucking Christ!”

 

Okay. He had to calm down. He pushed down on the sink, closing his eyes and forcing through even breaths. After rinsing his face and a change of clothes, he came out of the bathroom a little calmer. Max tried to not think about the ugly, camp shirt David would wear on a constant basis, or the meaninglessly short vest he’d wear, or the ridiculous, bright-yellow bandana he wore. Nevertheless, he wore them anyway. He had to look just like David in case someone would burst in here. Even so, he sorely missed the comfort of his baggy sweater.

 

He even tried to do David’s hair just like he would. It took copious amounts of hair gel, but he managed to get the floof part to stand straight up eventually. Satisfied, Max thought he did a pretty good job overall with faking appearances. Maybe Max could do this. He could fake it until he didn’t have to anymore. He could play the part of David, cheery, co-camp counselor to Camp Campbell.

 

Just then, a sudden, booming crash jolted Max out of his thoughts. He scrambled to his blinds, peeking out of one to see what was the commotion. It was Space Kid. Of course, it was him, the dumbass. His irritation was already climbing to murderous heights. This could be harder than he thought. Max pinched the bridge of his (David’s) nose.

 

“Is strangling a kid out of character for David?”

 

* * *

 

“How did this happen?” Neil demanded, his arms flailing. “I mean, it doesn’t make sense scientifically? There is no logic to this situation!”

 

“I don’t know, but Max and I need to hurry up and switch back bodies! Gwen can’t run the camp all by herself! A-And who’s going to play guitar for the campfire songs now?”

 

“Is that really what you’re worried about?” Nikki muttered.

 

“Okay, okay.” Neil rubbed his temples. “First, let’s go tell Gwen about the situation—”

 

David made a small noise of terror and shook his head vehemently. “Maybe not now, I mean not in front of the kids and everything— plus she would _freak_! We should go find Max, assuming he’s in my body?”

 

“Then what are we waiting for? To the counselor cabin!” Nikki announced, marching out of the tent, followed hastily by the other two children.

 

Reaching the door to the cabin, David had to try almost jump to reach the handle. Goodness, he was so small! It would certainly take some time getting used to. The handle didn’t budge. The door must’ve been locked from inside.

 

“The door’s locked. Max must still be inside,” David frowned. He knocked on the door softly, pressing his ear to it. “Max? Buddy? I know you’re in there— we can fix this, just open the door!”

 

Neil and Nikki joined in with the knocking, calling out reassurances.

 

“Hey Max, you’re probably freaked but we can figure something out!”

 

“Hey, hey Max! How’s the view from up there? Must be a change!”

 

“What are you three doing?” The trio turned to find Gwen glaring at them, her arms crossed. “Breakfast started almost an hour ago. Wait— are you trying to break into my cabin?!”

 

“But where’s David?” Neil asked.

 

“Where else? He’s in the dining hall with everyone else. Where you kids need to be. Let’s go!” Gwen turned their back on them, oblivious to their gaping, and started heading back.

 

* * *

 

“Nerf, for fu— I mean, for _goodness’_ sake, no stabbing Space Kid! Harrison, I swear to god, the only disappearing act I want to see is that breakfast disappearing from your tray and into your throat. Nerris, the oatmeal gives you +5, I don’t know, dexterity, okay? It isn’t poison. So stop launching it at your enemies.” It was only 8:30 in the morning and Max was done with the day. Scratch that. He was done with this camp in general. Screw this shit. He’d only tripped up on swearing about a thousand times for breakfast— how was he supposed to go the whole day like this? Even the campers weren’t this dimwitted. They could already tell that David’s usual, cheery demeanor was nowhere to be seen. A few of them had already questioned if this was a re-ignition of the “Bonquisha scandal”.

 

Once they were all served and calmed down to a certain level, Max moodily grabbed a sloppy serving of lukewarm oatmeal and made his way to an empty table, almost tripping over his pale, skinny, _long-ass_ legs, finally sitting down unceremoniously. He picked up a spoonful and stuck in his mouth dejectedly, lethargy already hitting him and his posture. Max knew that the counselor had perfect posture, always straight and rigid and somehow vibrating with manic energy, but screw that. As his shoulders hunched over more and more, Max found it harder and harder to keep up that army-like composure.

 

After a few more spoonfuls, the oatmeal quickly staled in his mouth, sticking to the roof of his mouth. He took a long gulp of orange juice, trying to choke it down. After that mess, he looked around the mess hall, trying to read the mood. The campers always seemed like a ticking time bomb, but now only a thousand more times so ever since he was put in charge. Everyone was chattering casually away, but every second that passed by was another bout of uncertainty. What was next? Another food fight? Nerf dumps oatmeal down Space Kid’s underwear? Oatmeal sculpture made by Dolf? Max swallowed the nervous lump down his throat, unsure if it was the acting up anxiety or the dry oatmeal. Jesus Christ, he never knew the life of a counselor was so _freaking stressful_.

 

He idly wondered if he should be acting more David-like. Should he sing random praises to the campers? Gross. Max would rather chug the rest of his oatmeal. Should he announce the day’s plans with excruciating detail? Nah. He didn’t even know what was on today’s agenda. He was basically tagging along with whatever Gwen’s got in store. Speaking of, where was she? She went to go find Nikki and Neil (Max had pointed out right away that they were gone), but she hasn’t been back in over ten minutes. Max swallowed again, feeling something uneasy settle into his gut. Maybe the pair ditched and went on an adventure. Without him.

 

Before he slipped further into sulking, the doors to the mess hall slammed open, a trio of kids rushing in with Gwen trailing behind them, looking characteristically inattentive, her fingers tapping away on her phone. Max started to break into a grin when he recognized his friends but then went slack as he saw himself. It was _himself_ , as in Max’s body, but he was sure as _hell_ that he wasn’t piloting his own body, so in that case, who was? Max, in David’s body, started to get up from his seat, still gawking at his original body. Max’s body was looking around, his eyes sweeping the whole room until his eyes— which were _green_ — met Max’s blue ones.

 

Green eyes. Ones that were awfully familiar. Max balled his fists, his eyes widening when a sudden realization hit him. Max opened his mouth, and he wasn’t sure whether or not to either scream incoherently or let out a string of frantic curse words. Max’s body, who realized what Max was going to do, shook his head jerkily. Max closed his mouth obediently, allowing the panic to settle inside him. He watched silently as the one in Max’s body tugged at both Nikki and Neil’s sleeve, meaning for them to follow as he made his way to Max. They stopped by the kitchen to grab their bowls of oatmeal and hurried to Max’s table. When the three of them plopped down beside Max, he blinked, suddenly remembering he was halfway between sitting and standing, which probably made him look like a total dumbass. He sat down stiffly, his knees bumping the underside of the table. Max scowled, rubbing it sorely, while the one in Max’s body winced.

 

Neil took a careful glance around the mess hall, then elbowed Max softly. “Max. We know it’s you, man.”

 

Max let out a breathy exhale, some of his pent-up panic subsiding. “Oh thank god; I am so glad I didn’t have to spell it out for you.”

 

“You don’t look so good,” Nikki gave him a once-over, frowning. And when Max opened his mouth to bite back a retort, she shook her head. “And yeah, I know David doesn’t look good normally—”

 

“Hey!” The one in Max’s body protested weakly, and Nikki ignored him, wanting to continue, but Max held up his hand. She fell silent, while he shook his head again, rubbing his temples.

 

“Okay. Okay, wait, so. Just so it’s confirmed—” Max took another deep breath and pointed at David. “The one in  _my_  body is freakin’ _David?_ ”

 

Neil rolled his eyes, his lips pressing into a thin frown. “Who did you think? You’re in David’s body. Where would David be?”

 

Max gestured vaguely, shrugging. “I don’t know? Like maybe I possessed David and he’s just, like, still in here or some shit but I’m the one controlling the body. Ugh, whatever, it doesn’t matter. I’ve got a hell of a headache.”

 

David leaned forward, concern in his features. “I’ve got Tylenol in the cabin, Max—”

 

“Oh yeah. I chugged those.”

 

“Max!” David sighed exasperatedly. He opened his mouth again, no doubt to give him a lecture on medication overdose, but he thought better of it. “Uh, nevermind. We need to figure out how to get back into our own bodies.”

 

Max snorted. “No kidding. You wanna know how many times I bumped my head into something? Too many times for it to only be eight in the morning.”

 

David wrung his hands, glancing back at the campers and then at Max. “No one knows, right, Max?”

 

“David, you’d be so freaking proud of me. I managed not to swear— well— fully swear at any of these morons all morning. And I kept them from killing each other. Plus, did you see how there is not one speck of oatmeal on the floor? You’re welcome.”

 

Nikki side-eyed the wall to the right of her, grinning when she saw the stray speck of discolored oatmeal stuck to the wall. Max rolled his eyes, hunching over further. “Okay. I did say floors, not walls. Nerris started flicking her oatmeal at people.”

 

They lapse into silence, David and Neil putting spoonfuls into their mouth, while Nikki played with her breakfast, slapping the bottom of her spoon on the surface of the oatmeal over and over again. After a while, Neil muttered, “I still can’t figure out how you guys switched. There is no way in science that this was possible.”

 

“Maybe it’s some kind of hocus pocus crap,” Nikki wondered, her eyes widening with glee. “Ooh, let’s ask Harrison. He’d know what to do.”

 

To this, Max choked. “No fucking way. I’m not letting him mess with me after that— you know!”

 

Neil traced the grooves of the wooden table with a finger, letting out a breath of frustration and mumbled something about _damn illogical magic_ . Nikki frowned and crossed her arms. “Hey, I’m just throwing out possibilities! Or, I mean, you _could_ ask…”

 

Nikki arches an eyebrow, her lips quirking up into a smirk. Max shifted in his seat, not liking the amusement reflected in his friend’s eyes. “What? Ask who?”

 

“Quartermaster.” This time, it was Neil’s turn to choke, dry-heaving already put-down oatmeal. He shook his head vehemently, squawking.

 

_"Seriously?”_

 

Max considered this. While Harrison had personally scarred him, Quartermaster had done some certainly… questionable and potentially eye-bleaching things, but what the hell. And compared to spending the rest of his lousy days on Earth in _David’s_ body? Over his own goddamn body. However, when realizing they had sunk so low as to seek out that crazy old guy’s help, he fought the urge to slam his head into the table. Desperate times call for desperate measures, he rationalized. And after this was all said and done, he swore never to bring this nightmare up again.

 

“What the hell,” Max bit out, folding his arms and resting them on the table. “Let’s ask him and get this over with.”

 

Nikki pumped her fists, clearly excited for another bizarre exchange with the old man, while David visibly paled, and Neil just shook his head resignedly. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was so fun to write, and I got a new chapter almost done already haha... hopefully the Max-David switch isn't too confusing for people. Like, if I say Max, it's Max in David's body. Which even confuses me. Anyways, check out the blog link! Lots of fun art!! :D


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Quartermaster provides them with a solution! And they do some log-rolling.

Once all the campers were cleared out of the mess hall, they moved towards the lake while the four of them hanged back, taking turns to glance cautiously at Quartermaster, who was muttering incoherent words while wiping the bowls clean with a ragged dish towel.

 

They made a move towards the old man, but then Gwen stuck her head back into the mess hall. “David, let’s go! Don’t leave me to start activities by myself.”

 

Max, remembering that Gwen was addressing him, nodded numbly. “Y-Yeah, just a second, I was talking with Max. I’ll be right there.”

 

Gwen made a face. “Don’t take too long. Neil, Nikki, let’s go. Max can catch up with you guys later.”

 

The two glanced at Max and David, the latter gesturing for them to follow Gwen. Neil had to practically pull Nikki, who looked so dejected, away from the mess hall. He reached the door, pausing to glance at Max again. “We’ll see you later.”

 

As the door shut behind them, Nikki waved. “Tell us what happened after! And don’t spare the details!”

 

Once the door was closed firmly, and the three of them were gone, David and Max exchanged wary glances before walking towards the kitchen. Inside, Quartermaster had gone from talking to himself to mumbling out song verses, still bent on drying the dishes. His bushy eyebrows gave him little-to-no peripheral vision, and David had to clear his throat to get his attention.

 

“Hey, Quartermaster!” The old man turned to squint at Max’s actual body; whether he knew that was not Max’s voice or not, he didn’t make any notion of realizing. David stepped forward in Max’s body, his tiny hands gesturing wildly as he launched into an animated explanation. “We’re in a bit of a pickle. When Max and I woke up, we kind of… switched bodies? And we thought you’d know how to fix us up since you’re so good at those kinds of mystical, freaky stuff!”

 

The quartermaster didn’t answer right away. Instead, he looked back and forth between the two, rubbing his nose. Finally, he harrumphed, shaking his head. Muttering something under his breath, that neither of them could make out, he pushed past them and headed out of the kitchen, tilting his head a fraction as a gesture for them to follow him. They quickly fell in line behind him, trailing after him as he led them out of the mess hall and into his private shed. When they entered the dim room, Max felt a cold wave fall over him and he shuddered, suppressing the urge to make a face. They watched as Quartermaster turned to one corner of the room, digging through a musty, old cardboard box, throwing stray items here and there. At last, he took a few discernible objects from the box, his brow furrowing as he looked back at them.

 

“Outside,” he commanded gruffly. “I’ll explain when I’m done.”

 

The pair glanced at each other, Max shrugging slightly. The two trudged out of the shed, out into the bright daylight, and Max brought a hand over his eyes to shield himself, gritting his teeth. “It’s too freaking hot. I wish I was back in your air-conditioned cabin.”

 

David hummed, choosing to ignore the latter statement. He sat down, tucking his knees into his chest. “We’re going swimming later. And we’ll eat some popsicles if you all behave yourselves.”

 

Max joined David on the ground, feeling like he was towering too much over his original body. He smirked before adding snidely to David’s comment: “You know, since everyone thinks I’m ‘David’, you can’t dictate the rules anymore. So for today, I declare ice cream sundaes for everyone and it’s push-Space-Kid-off-the-dock-day.”

 

David shot Max a disapproving look, tisking. “Now, really. You know better than to abuse the counselor position, Max. I hope you weren’t misbehaving before we came into the mess hall.”

 

“What? Didn’t you hear what I told you guys before? I practically kept them from death by oatmeal.” A small huff of impatience escaped his throat as he waited for a response that never came. Stewing quietly, Max angled himself slightly away from David. He blew a stray strand from his face and scowled, breaking the silence. “Jesus. Why is your hair so _floppy?”_

 

David coughed, and Max could clearly tell that he was trying to stifle his laughter. Irritation pricked up his neck as he ran a rough hand through David’s ginger hair. Once he took his hand out, even a bigger part flopped into his field of vision, causing him to swat at it aimlessly. He threw a glare at David when he started to laugh.

 

“Did you use the hair gel in the cabinet?” David said lightly, and Max grumbled something unintelligible, his cheeks flushed pink.

 

“Hey jerkass, how’s being small for a change?” Max asked after a while, his tone more curious than an actual retort.

 

“Language, and it’s pretty cool!” David smiled. “It’s been a long time since I was so small. And your hoodie— it’s so comfortable! No wonder you wear it all the time.”

 

“Yeah, and you’d better not lose it or mess it up! Seriously, David. Swear to me that you—”

 

“S’all done.” Quartermaster appeared behind the pair, causing both to startle. “But there’s one condition. The juice ain’t done ‘til tomorrow night. So wait. And you both have to take it together.”

 

Max was already rising from the ground, heated words bubbling in his throat at what utter bullshit this was. What kind of fairy tale crap is this? Next thing you know, the old man was going to say they had to take the “magical potion” by midnight.

 

“Oh yeah. And you have to take it by midnight.” Max fought the urge to facepalm.

 

“Are you sure there aren’t any more terms and conditions you left out?” He deadpanned, glaring irritably at the quartermaster.

 

“Nope. I think.”

 

“You _think_ —”

 

“Thank you! Quartermaster,” David hastily coughed, already pulling Max away. “We really appreciate it. We’ll be here tomorrow night.”

 

Max shut his mouth and fumbled for the hoodie pockets that weren’t there. Stewing quietly, he followed David as they made their way to the lakeside. As they walked, David was currently going through a long-ass lecture on how to behave himself and how to act “David-like” so no one would suspect anything. Max mostly tuned him out. He already made up his mind to follow his own three rules: don’t swear, don’t trip over your legs, don’t let the campers die. Which two out of the three rules gave him enough trouble to abide by.

 

“...and don’t hang around Nikki and Neil too often! You have to treat each camper equally and engage with all of them.” David glanced at Max, frowning slightly when Max didn’t acknowledge the statement. “Max? Are you listening to me? Max!”

 

“Huh?” Max, who had been staring at his feet, suddenly snapped his head up. He rolled his eyes, giving a dismissive wave. “Yeah, yeah, I got it, David. Stop worrying so much. Sheesh.”

 

David crossed his arms, still not trusting him. “I’m serious, Max. You need to be on your best behavior. They think you’re _me_ , remember?”

 

“Wait.” Max stopped, a slow grin spreading across his face, a malicious idea forming in his brain. He turned to David, crying out in triumph. “And you’re me! Oh, this is too good. This is just too good. If I have to act like your lame self, you’ve gotta act like me.”

 

David frowned, his eyes widening when he realized what Max was implying. “Oh. Oh no. No, Max, I can’t—!”

 

“You gotta say it,” Max grinned cheekily. “You don’t want them to suspect anything, right? Come on, David.”  

 

“N-No, I won’t do it!”

 

“Say it.”

 

David sputtered out a noise of protest. “I can’t do it. I’ll act angry and moody for gosh darn’s sake, but—” Shaking his head, David stalked forward, but with his short legs, it didn’t take much but a few long strides for Max to catch up.

 

“No. Say the word, David. Say _fuck_.” As soon as he said the words, he made a face, the curse word sounding foreign in the counselor’s voice. David mirrored his reaction, a deep frown pressed on his lips as he shot a look of disapproval at Max.

 

“I’ll say _frick_ ,” relented David after a pause, but even at that, David blanched and Max snorted.

 

“I guess as long as you don’t say _hooey_ ,” Max sighed, letting a hand travel through David’s hair again. He tried pressing it down, and for the first time, to his delight, it actually complied. Finally, they reached the lakeside, and Max could see all the campers settled on the grass, while Gwen looked occupied lugging a log across the dock, throwing it haphazardly into the water.

 

The two merged into the group, David sitting down by Neil and Nikki while Max walked up to the dock. Gwen noticed Max behind her, turning around to scowl at him, crossing her arms.

 

“Took you long enough. I hope that talk you had with Max will keep him in line today,” she added, rubbing her temples, “the kids are a freakin’ handful as it is.”

 

Max suppressed a laugh, glancing to where David sat. If only Gwen knew. Instead, Max cleared his throat, gesturing at the floating log in the lake. “So what are we doing today?”

 

The counselor raised her eyebrows, perturbed. “You went over the schedule last night with me in _great_ detail, and you don’t know what we’re doing? Jeez. You really must’ve had a bad night.”

 

Max swallowed the drawing impatience and tried not to roll his eyes. He instead glanced back at the log in the water. Well, duh, it was obvious.

 

“Oh, right. Log-rolling,” he laughed weakly, hiding his distaste. “I almost forgot.”

 

“Yeah, and you’re up. I sure as hell am not demonstrating this time,” She said, before adding under her breath about having nightmares of beekeeping. "And I could only find a couple of lifejackets, so I’m giving them to the kids who can’t swim as well. Wait— where’s your swim trunks?”

 

Gwen frowned, looking him up and down. Max cursed internally. How was he supposed to know what he was doing? Stupid David. Of course he’d forget to mention that he needed them.

 

Max scratched the back of his neck, shrugging. “I don’t need them?”

 

His co-counselor blew out an impatient breath. “Okay…you didn’t tell Max to get his trunks on?”

 

“Oh, right. Bad night, remember?” To which, Gwen shook her head, clearly miffed.

 

“Yeah, yeah. I’ll go with him to get dressed, and I’ll grab the lifejackets too.” Gwen walked off, and Max turned around, finding the campers all looking at him expectantly. He was suddenly struck by the feeling of having no _fucking clue_ as to what he was supposed to do. He glanced at his friends nervously, but they only mirrored his expression.

 

“Okay, guys. So, uh, log-rolling!” Max fumbled for words, wishing desperately to stick his hands into his hoodie’s pocket. “Uh…”

 

He caught David’s gaze before leaving, and he nodded encouragingly. Max took a deep breath and tried again. “Yeah. We’re going to do log-rolling.”

 

Harrison raised his hand a fraction. “I don’t really like log-rolling…”

 

“Great.” Max cut him off in a bored voice. “Still doing it, Harrison.”

 

Harrison slowly lowered his hand, shifting uncomfortably. Max huffed a little and tried to soften his tone. “Gwen will give you a life jacket if you aren’t comfortable going in the lake without it. As for the rest of you, pair up.”

 

Dolf raised his hand, and Max nodded. “How do we do this log-rolling?”

 

“What the fu— it’s pretty self-explanatory, isn’t it?” Max frowned. “Get on the log. Don’t fall into the water. That’s literally all there is to it.”

 

“Can we—”

 

“ _No,_ Nerf, you can’t push them off the log.” Max pinched the bridge of his nose, unable to stop the sigh that came out. “That’s. Do you know how log-rolling works? Because that’s not how it works.”

 

“Oh, oh! Can I use my sword to battle my opponents?” Nerris bounced up and down in place, and Nikki enthusiastically agreed with her. Max wanted to groan. Why did every single thing they do be so _goddamn_ complicated? And what was Nikki doing supporting her? The traitor. She was supposed to be on his side!

 

“No, no,” Max had reached his limit. One more annoying-ass question, and he’d blow up. That was it. “No sword fights! Seriously? It’s log-rolling, that’s it! Can you _please_ get that through your head—”

 

“Hey, why don’t you demonstrate it first, Maa—David?” David had suddenly reappeared, having changed into Max’s swim shorts. Max narrowed his eyes. Just like that, David had gone and made his shitty situation even shittier. Triple the amount of shit. He really hated how David for putting him on the spot like that. He was never good at log-rolling, average at best, and with a new pair of long legs, he’d probably just make a fool out of himself.

 

Wait, why did he even care? He wasn’t in his own body; this was David’s. He was pretty sure he couldn’t make David look any worse than he already was. Max coughed, clearing his throat. “Okay, partner up with me, Max.”

 

* * *

 

After pulling on Max’s baby-blue swim shorts, David hurried back towards the lakeshore, fretting over the number of curse words that Max had spoken with his mouth. He shook his head. No, he had to believe in Max! He said that he handled it well during breakfast, right? It’d be fine. Probably. Nevertheless, he quickened his pace, apprehension etched on his face.

 

David settled back by Neil and Nikki, which the former hissed: “What happened with Quartermaster?”

 

David pursed his lips, shaking his head. “I’ll tell you guys later. Is Max doing okay up there?”

 

Neil gave a half-shrug. “Not a solid David performance, I think. But, I mean, he didn’t swear so far, so that’s something.”

 

David watched as Nerris asked a question, and he suppressed a smile, seeing Max clearly wrestle with agitation, and then Nikki on his right shouting with assent for Nerris’ idea. That earned a poke from Neil, and Nikki closed her mouth. Max’s irritation was now written across his features, and David could see the tell-tale signs of him starting to crack. He started to ramble and gesture with his hands wildly, and deciding to help him out, David called out:

 

“Hey, why don’t you demonstrate it first, Maa—David?” Oh, gosh. He almost called Max by his actual name. It just sounded weird calling his own name. Max shot him a look, and David knew he wasn’t pleased by the fact that he had to demonstrate. But, he was a counselor now! He had to take the initiative and show the kids how it’s done, so they would be more comfortable in participating in the activity. David flashed a quick, reassuring smile, and Max only gritted his teeth. Then, Max cleared his throat.

 

“Okay, partner up with me, Max.” David willingly got up, happy to help out, until he was being jerked down by Neil, pulling him close to whisper something in his ear.

 

“David, you can’t just get up like that! You have to argue with him and give him crap for it, y’know?” David frowned slightly. Max was having enough trouble as it is, and he was supposed to cause more trouble? Well, he was acting as _Max_ for now. And he knew for a fact that Max wouldn’t obey him just like that. And so, as Max waited expectantly, David got back up, brushing off his shorts. He then scowled at Max, wondering in the back of his mind if it was enough to be convincing. He wouldn’t swear, but by golly, he could act as a troublesome kid if he wanted to!

 

“Seriously?” David tried snapping at Max, who looked at him ridiculously. “Of all the people, you’re choosing _me?_ Log-rolling is so stupid! You can’t make me!”  

 

“C-Come on, Max,” Max furrowed his brow, and David felt his scowl slipping, but kept glaring. “you, uh, don't know if you don’t try!”

 

“Ugh, fine.” David let out a low groan, internally approving Max’s reply. It was a solid response, and it sounded encouraging enough! He wanted to congratulate him, but he managed to keep up the grumpy boy’s demeanor. He trudged up the dock, doing his best to look bored.

 

“We need people to spot us,” David added quietly, once he was close to Max. Max called up Nikki and Neil, and the pair waded into the water to hold the log steady.

 

“Alright, so first, one of us gets on the log first,” Max announced to the rest of the kids, then glanced at David expectantly, but David jerked his head to the side, affirming that he needed to step on first. Max blinked. “...Right. Which would be me. Okay.”

 

David watched from behind, fiddling with his fingers as he watched Max test a cautious foot on the log. He tried not to blurt out instructions, finding it hard to let Max figure it out by himself. He needed to plant his feet firmly to establish balance. And he shouldn’t stare at his feet, but the end of the log instead!

 

Thankfully, after a few seconds of struggling, Max clambered onto the log, wavering a bit but finally settling on his feet. David was really proud of Max having accomplished that! The fact that Max overcame a dramatic change of height and a shifting center of balance brought tears to his eyes. David came over, stepping over onto the log with ease, smiling at Max. But Max simply scoffed lowly and broke eye contact, glancing at the campers.

 

“Now, notice how we’re facing opposite directions. You start moving your feet on the log, and you wanna try to stay as long as you can on the log, so you have to keep your balance and stuff. Got it?” David frowned. The explanation was stated shortly but lacked enthusiasm. And he desperately wanted to throw in some pointers but held his tongue with great reluctance.

 

“Okay, cool. So we’re going to start.” Max shot an apprehensive look at David, and it was then that he realized that Max never changed out of his camp clothes. Oh, dear. With all that happened this morning, it slipped his mind. He bit his lip, guilt forming in his stomach. Max started moving his feet, making the log lurch to a start. David decided to take two steps, then held his breath as he plunged purposely into the cold water. As he resurfaced, he heard some laughter from the campers, while Max stumbled off the log and back onto the dock, all dry.

 

“Yeah, that’s how you do it. So who’s wants to go first?” The majority of campers looked eager to try it, voices bubbling up in excitement as a few raised their hands. As David waded back to the shore, Max had Space Kid and Dolf up on the log, instructing them where to place their feet.

 

David felt a surge of pride well up in his chest, unable to hide the smile on his face. Max, his little co-counselor. He sat on the lakeside, draping Max’s towel over him while the other campers crowded along the edge of the dock, cheering the dueling pair on. Gwen made her way to the end of the dock, holding out life jackets, and Max settled beside David. To which, David beamed.

 

“You were so great out there, Max!” David sniffed, wiping away at one eye, while Max wore a strangled expression.

 

“Jesus Christ, David. Please do not start fucking breaking down, I swear to god.”

 

“I’m just so proud,” David patted his back, still smiling, while Max swatted his arm away, huffing.

 

“Honestly, I don’t know how much more I can take of this,” Max griped, pulling at the strands of his hair. “I mean, sure, when I was myself, they were annoying, but now that I’m in charge of them, it multiplied by like a thousand fucking times.”

 

“Aw, well, I’m sure you’ll start to warm up to them. You really pumped them up there!”

 

“Ugh, whatever. And remember when you told me I needed a goddamn swimsuit? Oh yeah, that’s right, you didn’t!” Max growled, jutting an accusing finger at David, who looked away, laughing sheepishly.

 

“Sorry, Max. At least you didn’t get wet! But, I’ll remember to give you a heads-up on future activities.” Max rolled his eyes, folding his knees against his chest, letting out an angry huff.

 

“What’s the next activity anyway?”

 

“Ooh, it’s a fun one! Potato sack races!”

 

“ _Jesus fucking Christ."_

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, I need ideas for camp activities. Max is surprisingly good at this counselor stuff. And David is very proud of his son. :')


End file.
